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The Glissando is a new pattern from Love Notions patterns and it includes pants, shorts and a skirt. They all have similar features and the options make this a pattern that will go a long way. SO many possibilities. The straight pants and skirts are definitely styles I like and wear a lot. Woven fabric? yes please.

The Glissando pattern from Love Notions is 25% off through the 27th of September. You can get yours HERE using my affiliate link, if you’d love to support my work, at no extra cost to you. Thank you! Use my code Lifting10 for an extra 10% off.

The three options all have in common the three pieces curved waistband that reaches the natural waist, the curved pockets on the front, the patch pockets on the back and the exposed button fly.

The pants have a straight leg feature straight down from the hips ending 2-3″ above the ankle and the skirt is also straight, the hem is above the knee.

The Glissando is designed for medium weight woven fabric. Structured and zero stretch. The best choices are:

• Linen
• Chambray
• Twill
• Corduroy
• Linen

Caution with stretch woven:

I know many will love to use stretch wovens like: stretch denim, stretch twill, stretch cotton sateen. Yes, these fabrics are structured and will be easy to sew with, and yes, they may be comfortable. BUT, the stretch factor will affect the fit a great deal. If you make a muslin with a woven and then make that same pattern in these types of fabric, the fit will turn out baggy and saggy.

The Glissando design is fitted at the waist and hips, and for woven, that involves some positive ease. This is necessary to move and breathe. When making this design with stretch woven, a better look involves zero ease and even some negative ease.

I would prefer to make a pattern designed with no ease or some negative ease in the first place, if I was set on using stretch woven.

Also, some stretch woven like stretch cotton sateen has a low spandex content and the recovery is very poor. This results in a garment that stretches out and bags out with wear, especially on the bottom and knees area.

Caution with heavy wovens:

Heavy denim, heavy canvas and Corduroy will inevitably result in a “smaller” garment because of the volume and thickness in the fabric. You can make the same size and use the exact same seam allowance with a heavier fabric, and you may notice the hips and waist are tight. Be aware of this when you make your muslin and if you intend on using a heavier fabric, try to find something similar to make your muslin with.

The Glissando is available in sizes 0-32 US and there is a standard pattern and also the option with a full belly adjustment.

In the size chart, there is an extra body measurement there: the high hip. When you measure yourself, if you find that your high hip is larger than the one you see on the chart for your correct full hip size, then you may benefit from trying the full belly piece. *I did not test this option. Please note that the center front has a slight curve to accommodate belly volume.

Intended fit:

The curved waistband hits the natural waist and is fitted with zero – 1.5″ positive ease, depending on the size. The hips are also fitted and have 1.5-2.5″ of positive ease. This is minimal positive ease and is enough for the fitted look, whilst being able to sit, move and breathe. The legs fall straight down from the hips and the look of the legs will be in proportion to the width of the hips.

The length:

The Pants are hemmed to hit 2-3″ above the ankle as a cropped style, but this is easily to customized to your preference. The original inseam length of the Glissando pants is 24.5″ . The leg is straight and you can make them shorter or longer without needing to fuss much over truing the hem like you need to do with tapered leg pants, when you want to adjust the length.

The skirt finishes above the knee and has a variable length depending on the size chosen (22-25″). To lengthen or shorten, choose an area above the hem. The hem on the skirt flares out as it’s trued to the slight taper of the skirt. My size 16 has the original length to fit above my knees, and I’m 5ft 8″. I would suggest you measure yourself if you have a shorter height to make sure it’s not too long for you, if that’s what you want.

The shorts have a 5″ inseam. For me, these are just too short for my 5ft 8″ height. I would need at least 3″ extra to have a length comfortable for me.

First thing is first: you need to measure your body. I am not referring to basics like waist and hips. I am referring to the length of your rise. When you know the total length and also what it is separately for the front and back, you can compare your “lengths” to those of the pattern.

See the following video on my channel to see this done on a body and also what to do to your pattern pieces to be able to compare how different your body may be to your pant pattern.

If you find that your front and back rise length is different to the ones you measure on your pattern at the seam line (including the waistband), you can EASILY ADJUST the lengths on the pattern. You might need to change it only on the front, only in the back or on both and depending on that, how it can be done.

See the following video to see examples of how a short rise looks on the front and the back, also how a long rise looks on the front and the back, and how to correct this on the pattern. It’s very well explained, and it will make a difference to your fitting experience.

Also, the shapes of the front and back crotch curve may not suit the shape of your front and your back. Making slight changes to the shape of these curves, to make them “shallower” (add space) or “scooped” (to remove space) can make an enormous difference to the final look once the rise lengths are correct. Have a look at the following video to see these fitting issue on a body and how to corect on a pattern.

Make a NON WEARABLE muslin.

Taking a pattern you’ve never made, choosing your size based on waist and hips and making the full deal, complete with pockets, fly and top stitching and discover it does not fit like intended…. it can be super frustrating. Apart from the time and resources used, the demotivation can be real.

If you lose the thought that patterns have to fit you straight out of the printer (or envelope) and you :

• Measure your body
• Measure your pattern
• Compare them
• Adjust the pattern
• Make a NON WEARABLE muslin without details (pockets, fly and top stitching). A quick centered zipper is fine to asses fit and you need the waistband there to really know the fit it right.

your experience can be totally different because of the following:

• You learn about your unique body
• You learn how to adapt patterns before sewing
• You waste less: your good fabrics
• When you get to your best fabric, fitting is out of the equation and going all in with the details (pockets, fly, topstitching) will be satisfying.

Below is a diagram of the adjustments I needed for the Glissando to fit my body:

Above you can see the fit of my non wearable muslin for the Glissando pants and the fit was pretty much spot on. I had already added the length to the back rise and after this fitting, I scooped the back curve 3/8″ to get rid of a little excess fabric I had at the bottom of the curve.

The muslin fabric is terrible, but it’s great to asses the fit. It’s woven, zero stretch and is the same weight as the linen I intend to use. Making the real thing is very exciting after getting the fit right with the muslin.

• The seam allowance is 1/2″
• There is a dart on the waist of the back leg. Depending on the shape of your body, you might benefit from sewing it with a slightly concave shape shown in red below. This will accommodate the curved area of the buttocks better.

• The pocket lining can be done with any very lightweight woven. No one will see it, and it being very light will reduce the bulk on the front leg.
• The front pockets cover the whole front and feel super supportive on the abdomen. I love this.
• The left pocket centers need to be trimmed 1.5″ (4cm) away from the center to reduce bulk under the fly facing. If doing the button fly, this will create less bulk for the buttonholes. The raw edge of the center of the pocket will be protected under the fly facing.
• There are reference marks on the back leg for the patch pocket placement. Take these as a suggestion only and try on the pockets on your muslin to see where they look best on your body.
• About the curved waistband. Let me simplify it for you. The curved waistband is composed of three pieces: the back, the right and the left. You need two of each, one of them will be interfaced and will be the outer (external) waistband. The inner waistband will not be interfaced.
• I like block fusing: this is less work and prevents the pieces from reducing in size and deforming when you fuse the interfacing later. I took a piece of fabric I knew was enough for my three pieces and interfaced it.
• I put the interfaced fabric RIGHT SIDES UP and the other non interfaced fabric under it. Both fabric layers WRONG SIDES TOGETHER. That’s it. Put your waistband pattern pieces on top (with the side of the pattern piece that has the labels looking up at you) and cut. Label your pieces on the wrong side of the fabric before you remove the pattern pieces and this will ensure the left waistband piece that is interfaced WILL be on your LEFT and the same for the front.
• When I pinned the outer and inner waistbands right sides together, I added a 3/8″ strip of cotton selvedge to the edge before sewing. I will catch the selvedge in the seam on the inside of the waistband and this will keep the shape of the curved waistband stable. An extra step that goes a long way. See this done in more detail IN THIS VIDEO.
• The waistband matches the top of the pants perfectly, but manipulation of the pants while sewing might cause the pants stretching out and being larger than the waistband. Prevent this by stay stitching the waist edge as soon as possible after cutting the fabric. Or, better yet, fuse a 3/8″ strip of non-stretch interfacing to the waist edge, including the front pocket opening curve. I did the latter option with my pants.

• The hem allowance is 2″ deep. I prefer 1.25″ on mine.
• The general construction method has you assemble the fly extension on the right front leg, then the fly facing on the left front leg, leave them separate and then assemble the right and left legs at the inseams and side seams. One leg is turned right sides out and placed inside the other. THEN the fly is sewn together at the notch whilst sewing the complete crotch on the front and back in one continuous seam. Unconventional for sure. This method is used mainly with pull on pants where there is no fly front closure.

The Glissando have a major feature and it’s the closure method: the exposed button fly. Whilst I love every other feature of the Glissando pattern, I know that this closure method is not my favorite, based on previous experience of sewing and wearing a button fly.

I think as seamstresses; we need to be 100% happy with the styles we sew for ourselves and what we use our resources and time towards. The fact that the Glissando have a button fly as a closure method does not mean I can’t sew the pattern. Of course I can, and you can too. We can just change the closure method without affecting the style of the pattern.

When I saw the testing call for the Glissando, I knew I would not be testing, because I could not change the button fly to a zipper fly as a pattern tester. I have been a tester for Love Notions for a few years already and now and then, this is the reason I don’t test some patterns: because I would prefer a few changes. But I make them on release with the minor changes that match my preference. Here, for the Glissando, the change was to transform the button fly to a zipper fly.

You can use the same fly extension and fly facing the pattern provides for the button fly technique. The difference is that we will insert a zipper in there with a different technique.

The only slight change needed to convert from button to zipper fly on the Glissando is:

• to trim the finished fly extension 1/4″ *(6mm) narrower OR
• use the original fly extension piece, but ADD 1/4″ (6mm) to the center of the RIGHT waistband.
• the original notch on the center front: I prefer my fly to be shorter, so I marked it 3/4″ higher (2cm)

These changes are because the seam allowance used on the right wearers leg center front is smaller with the zipper technique than the one used in the pattern with the button fly. These changes will ensure that the right side of the waistband will match the fly extension.

To see this process done easily, straightforward, step by step , see the video on my channel about the Glissando pattern. You can do it too if you like zippers as much as I do. I am also sharing my own technique, you won’t see this one anywhere and what I like the most about it, is not having to snip into seam allowance. PLUS: See the pocket construction front and back and the garments on in movement.

Print linen Capri length version

These are the first real Glissando I made after the muslin process. I had the idea that this crazy print would work best for me if they were at Capri length instead. I made them 4″ shorter and just folded away the pattern piece at the hem. The leg shape is straight, and it’s possible to do this with this style. *Don’t do this with tapered leg styles, though*

They have the zipper fly and this is only top stitched once. Because of the nature of the print, the top stitching is subdued and only functional, because it won’t be seen.

Styling:

Finding the right pink tone will be impossible, so I discount that color as an option to wear on the top. Also, the print has some white, and this is a color I also will stay away from (stain magnet). The black and brown are the two other options for me. The fabric has black, brown and white. This is not a foreign look or pant leg length for me. I am accustomed to this look and heels (wedges) are a must, in my opinion.

With black

Below I have a fitted black cami and a chiffon cover up. These have a shorter length that allows a good balance with the straight leg pants and will showcase the pocket details, but not the waist band. I will further discuss why I won’t tuck in tops. The print is wild. The black tops and shoes tone them down.

With brown

I recently resized a boxy linen thrifted top and added bust and back waist darts for shaping. This staple style and color was missing in my wardrobe and this new to me” top is perfect for the Glissando pants. Not too short, not too long, not boxy. I like the brown tones with this print better than the black pairing above. You can see this outfit on in movement in the video about the refashioned top HERE.

Brown linen cropped pants with visible top stitching

These Glissando pants came to be after the colorful pair, and for these I kept the original length of the pattern, though I made my hem 1″ deep. I chose tan color thread to highlight the features with top stitching and did this for the pockets, crotch curve, inseam and waistband.

Styling

Styling is always a very personal choice and we all have our own preferences. For a straight leg pant style, I like tops to hit mid hip as the maximum length. They don’t have to be fitted. Boxy is ok as long as it does not go past the mid hip length. The same for jacket length.

My choice is to never, ever tuck in tops into pants or skirts. I am tall and in proportion to my height; I have a short torso. My waist length is the same as a woman 2″ shorter than me. Tucking in tops highlights my short waist.

You will never ever see me with a sporty look, sport shoes or flats. It’s not the way I live my life he he 🙂

Autumn: fitted brown denim jacket with darts (RTW) and a colorful silk camisole I self drafted years ago. Chunky heels complete this autumn look.

Summer & Spring: My Glissando crops with a silk camisole cut on the bias that I self drafted years ago. The brown and yellow tones complements the brown pants and so do the tan chunky heels sandals.

Winter: The way I think crop straight leg pants look AMAZING is with BOOTS. In the ideal world, and if I lived in a place with real winter, I would dress like this in a heartbeat! BUT, I live in Brazil and I have stored away my purple boots. This purple linen top is a refashion, and you can see more about it in THIS VIDEO. I love this purple and brown look and the top has the right length for my preference. My Glissando pants are made with linen, but a heavier twill or corduroy would make them perfect for colder weather.

I think I have more possibilities to use the Glissando pants pattern as a base for these future ideas:

• Draft a back yoke piece whilst partially eliminating the back dart. This would make this pattern closer to the traditional jean style.
• Transform the curved pockets to slash pockets on the front
• Draft my own patch pockets for the front instead of the original curved pocket.
• Slim the legs moderately from the hips down, taking in the side seams and inseam equally to not end up with legs that twist.

• I’d love to do exposed zipper slits on the bottom of the hem at the side seams.
• Lengthen to full length for winter wear. I know my inseam is 33″ and this original inseam is 24.5″. I would need to add approximately 8.5″

The Glissando pattern from Love Notions is 25% off through the 27th of September. You can get yours HERE using my affiliate link, if you’d love to support my work, at no extra cost to you. Thank you!

Keep an eye out for a separate video and blog post on the Glissando skirts I am making during these couple of days! hacks galore 🙂

ADDED: I have a separate blog post HERE about my Glissando skirt. Included is a video review and sewing tutorial and tips on saving fabric.

DISCLAIMER: I was provided the pattern without cost, as an “unofficial” pattern tester and brad ambasador, in exchange for sewing a muslin, providing feedback on instructions and fit. I Purchased my own fabric for both versions.

I have affiliate links in this post to the pattern company and the pattern. If you click on these links, at no cost to you, I receive a small commission that helps finance my sewing, blog and Youtube channel.

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